Trampoline
by Sovrani
Summary: Oneoff. Artemis bought a trampoline, though he never thought he would use it... but then Holly comes over. I suck at summaries. AH. R & R to make me happy!


**(Disclaimer: If Eoin Colfer ever sold Artemis, I'd be there first to claim him. But unfortunately, Artemis will belong to Mr. Colfer until the end of time. Or at least until someone reinvents time. Hrmm... think of the possibilities...)**

**Trampoline**

Springs stretched and retracted as Holly jumped; her auburn hair bouncing, her hazel eyes sparkling happily.

'Artemis,' she called as she reached for a branch hanging just above her. 'I don't understand why you don't use this!'

Artemis hardly looked up from his computer. He had bought the trampoline by Juliet's request, but she had strangely never used it. It was fifteen feet wide, had a safety net and was placed under an Oak tree on the Fowl property, and Artemis was going to get it removed, when Holly spotted it and insisted that she had a go.

Holly landed on her backside and scrambled up again, smiling up at the sky. Normally she didn't enjoy being out late in the afternoon, but this opportunity had been just too good to pass up.

'Tell me again why you were going to get rid of it?' she asked him, bouncing as high as she could. Being on a trampoline was almost like flying, it felt as though she had wings, just like the prehistoric fairies.

Artemis squinted at his computer screen and made some new calculations. 'It takes up space, which could otherwise be used for more productive items,' he answered finally.

Holly scoffed, 'Artemis, you have the biggest "backyard" on Earth or under it, and you think that this trampoline takes up space. I have a courtyard, and it's smaller than this thing!' she bounced even higher, as if to make a point.

'Is that why you come over then?' Artemis asked, 'Just so you can have some more room?'

'Of course not,' Holly answered, 'I come over because I enjoy your company.'

Artemis looked up and arched a thin eyebrow. Holly grinned at him.

'I take it you were being sarcastic?'

'Not at all,' Holly turned away from him, and he suspected that she was laughing.

When she turned back to him she was still grinning. 'Why won't you have a go with me?'

'Because,' Artemis replied irritably, 'I'm working.'

'_Working,_' Holly repeated with emphasis on the word. 'On what, pray tell?'

'I'm calculating the speed of light,' Artemis said. Holly frowned.

'Hasn't that already been done?' she asked.

'Yes, but according to my recent findings I think that the speed of light may be considerably slower than most scientists think, you see, the speed of sound is slower than the speed of light-' Artemis began.

'And what about the speed of smell?'

'Very funny, Holly, but that may also be true. The movement of the smell takes a longer time to reach your brain than sound and light, so with the figures for the speed of sound I have lowered it sufficiently enough to be different figure altogether, so with that information I can recalculate the speed of light.'

Holly rolled her eyes. 'Sorry I asked. I didn't come here for a lecture, you know.'

'I do know. I'm surprised that Foaly hasn't already done it.'

'He hasn't.'

'Oh?'

'The original speed of light was calculated by an elf, and a Mud Man stole the formula from him,' Holly said, bouncing off one of the safety nets.

'Well, I may just have to prove that certain elf wrong,' Artemis replied, looking back at his laptop screen.

Holly stopped jumping and put her arms up against the net, chewing her lip. All Artemis did these days was work. She had come to the surface to be with him, and all of his attention was drawn to his beloved computer. She suddenly had an idea.

She started bouncing again, and once she was about to land she did a well practiced half turn, and she slipped on purpose. This hardly hurt her, but to Artemis it looked as though she had fallen. She hoped at least.

Holly clutched her ankle and hissed in fake pain. Even though she was full to the brim with magic, it couldn't hurt to try.

Artemis spotted her and a look of concern slid onto his features as he came around to the gap in the net and got on the trampoline. Holly bit her lip to hide her grin. This was going to be fun.

'Are you all right?' Artemis asked, kneeling down beside her.

'I think so,' Holly said, her voice sounding teary. 'Help me up and I'll see if I can walk on it.'

Artemis pulled her up by the hands. Holly stood soundly, putting plenty of weight on her supposedly damaged ankle. She gripped his arms tightly and grinned.

'You're fine,' Artemis said, 'I'll just get off now.'

'Nope,' Holly said. 'You're on the trampoline now, and I'm going to have some fun.' With that, she started jumping from side to side. This was highly uncomfortable for Artemis.

'Don't let go of me,' Holly warned, 'otherwise you're out.'

'Maybe I want to be out,' Artemis retorted, pulling away from her.

He stumbled backwards into the safety net. For some reason Holly looked delighted.

'Good, now start running in a clockwise direction,' she said.

'Why should I?'

'Because I'm going to catch you!'

Artemis started running before he even acknowledged it. He ran around the circular trampoline with Holly following him just behind.

For almost five minutes, Artemis and Holly ran around the edge until Artemis started tiring and slowed down. Holly noticed this and put on a sudden burst of speed and tackled him.

'You're it! Now chase me!' she squealed.

Artemis lay on his back, breathing hard. 'I can't.'

'Fine, then hug your knees to your chest.'

Artemis did so, unsure of what to expect.

Holly jumped as hard as she could, and Artemis bounced a few inches into the air. He suddenly realised the point of the game, and hung on as tight as he could.

Artemis lasted for nearly a minute, then he broke apart and lay on his back staring up at the sky.

Holly flopped down beside him. Her face was pink and her hair was a bit sweaty, but she was grinning more than ever.

'Now, you can't tell me that wasn't fun,' she teased, prodding him in the ribs.

Artemis shrugged. 'I feel like I just lost one hundred calories.'

'Knowing your metabolism, I wouldn't doubt it,' Holly lay back and looked through the leaves on the Oak tree.

Artemis looked over at her. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling contentedly. His first thought was just how peaceful she looked. Pretty too, just like when he first encountered her.

_Encountered. _The word seemed so innocent, when at the time he had been anything but that. He regretted what he had done, but in a way he was glad he had kidnapped her. Otherwise he wouldn't be lying next to her right now.

She opened her eyes and sat up.

'So,' she said. 'Are you going to throw out the trampoline now?'

'No,' said Artemis.

'Why?' she asked cheekily. 'For me?'

'I suppose,' Artemis replied. 'I won't be using it unless you're here.'

She smiled. 'That was a nice thing to say, Artemis. You're not developing a soft spot for me, are you?'

'I might be.'

Holly laughed. 'I remember when I first met you, Artemis. I thought you were an arrogant, annoying little Mud Boy.'

'I still am, aren't I?'

'Yes,' Holly admitted. 'But you're slightly more bearable now.'

'That's nice to know,' Artemis said, putting his hands behind his head.

Holly laid her head on his chest. Every time he inhaled and exhaled her head bobbed up and down.

'Artemis?'

'Yes?'

'Have you changed?'

'I've aged four years since we first met, Holly, I have matured.'

'I meant, have you changed for me?'

Artemis frowned. That was an interesting question.

'I don't know exactly how to answer that,' he said after a moment's consideration. 'But I do know that I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for you.'

Holly sat up and punched him gently in the arm. 'You're going soft Artemis.'

Artemis shrugged. 'Maybe I am, but it doesn't bother me.'

'It doesn't?'

'Not at all.'

They were silent for a long time. Holly eventually got up, and the sudden movement rocked the trampoline, making Artemis jiggle a little. He looked up at her.

'Something wrong?'

'Nope, bounce with me, Artemis,' Holly said, pulling him up.

Artemis stood in front of her looking down at her. He remembered when he was only twelve, in his own eyes she had just been a creature, just an animal to exploit.

'Holly,' he said. 'I just want to tell you I'm sorry.'

'Sorry?' the elf gave him a questioning look. 'For what?'

'For kidnapping you. For holding you for ransom. The way I've treated you. Everything,' Artemis looked her in the eyes to tell her he was being serious.

'If you hadn't kidnapped me, I wouldn't be standing here right now,' Holly said. 'I'm glad of everything you did, Artemis, even if it took me a while to get over it.'

'I'm glad,' Artemis said, smiling, 'I just wanted to get that off my chest.'

Holly smiled and Artemis was drawn to her lips. They were pink and plump, just how he remembered them when he was twelve.

And very suddenly his lips were on hers, and his arms were around her. And Holly didn't push him away. She simply entwined her fingers in his hair and deepened the kiss. Artemis and Holly stood there, on the trampoline, kissing as the sun sank below the trees.

And about one hundred metres away, Juliet Butler backed away from the window with a pair of binoculars and wearing a smirk. Butler raised his eyebrows at her, and she grinned at him.

'I told you he'd use that trampoline eventually.'

**The End**

**(A/N: Inspired by our trampoline at home. If Artemis' lecture on the speed of light/sound/smell is wrong, don't get all snappy at me about it, I'm no expert and I don't think there even is a speed of smell. If there isn't, I HAVE JUST INVENTED IT. If you like it, please review. If you don't like it, please review anyway.**

**Sovrani)**


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